


A Little Nudge

by JOBrien42



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Angst, Episode Related, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 16:13:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16558982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JOBrien42/pseuds/JOBrien42
Summary: An exploration of how Josh & Donna might have found their way back to one another in Season 7 if Leo had taken a slightly more active role, with missing scenes from S07E01 The Ticket, S07E06 The Al Smith Dinner and S07E12 Duck and Cover.





	1. The Ticket

The Ticket

“I wasn’t surprised,” the man said quietly, staring after a tall blond figure who’d already crossed the room.

“Surprised by what?” came the immediately recognizable voice of his vice-presidential candidate, former boss and mentor, Leo McGarry. “Hey, was that Donna?”

“Uh,” he replied, still staring off in the distance after her. “Yeah. She- she came for the deputy job.”

“You didn’t hire her?”

“No.”

Leo paused. When he was Josh’s boss, he would tell him that he’d just screwed up, that he couldn’t let talent like that walk away. Not if they wanted to win this thing. But Leo wasn’t his boss right now. This was Josh’s show, and he wasn’t going to countermand him.

When he finally spoke, it was a simple, “O.K.”

“She,” Josh continued, with a need to defend his decision. “She’s radioactive. You know Vinnick’s team is gonna use her material from the primaries as a big part of their game plan against us. If we put her out there, she’d - she’d spend half her time telling the press why she didn’t mean what she’d said about our guy and the other half trying to convince them that she meant it about theirs.”

Leo knew this was crap. No one cared all that much about the primary fights when the general came. Josh would know it was crap too, but it was the straw he clutched to when he couldn’t say what he really meant to say. She’d left him. She’d betrayed him.

He loved Josh as a son. Had known him most of his life. The kid had gone to Law School like his dad, but his drive into the political arena had been enflamed by stories told around the dinner table by his Uncle Leo. And Leo had taken this bright eyed, brilliant, bushy haired boy under his wing and watched him turn into one of the finest political minds in the country, the pit bull who would sink his teeth into a problem and never let go until he won.

The thing about a pit bull, though, is that they aren’t born a mean dog. Like any dog, it has everything to do with how they are reared. And that was the problem. Leo had essentially raised Josh as a political operative, and he taught the boy most of what he knew. And somewhere along the line, Josh learned some of the wrong lessons.

He had taught Josh how in politics true loyalty was the most precious commodity. About proper decorum, suit and tie during business hours, using proper titles for elected officials, that sort of thing. And he’d taught Josh that doing the job - this job in this place - was the most important thing he could do in his life.

Josh had learned those lessons well. He was the most loyal man Leo had ever met. Some of his suits may have been wrinkled, but he would bit his tongue out before calling the Congressman “Matt”. And he’d given his life - almost literally - for the current Administration and was going to go down swinging in order to help decide the next. And he would never, ever get in a relationship with a subordinate.

If he’d hadn’t learned these lessons this well, he wouldn’t be hurting this much right now. Neither, Leo imagined, would the woman who just left.

No, Leo wasn’t going to countermand Josh on this. But he also wanted to win, if for no other reason to ensure the legacy of the past eight years, and to build on it. He knew Josh wanted to do the same thing. And he was a better chess player than his protege. 

In time, Josh would realize his mistake. In time, he was going to want Donna with them. And if Leo had to subtly force the issue with a little nudge here and there, the so be it.

“So you weren’t surprised by what? Donna showing up for an interview?”

“No. She said she was as surprised as I was that she was good at this,” Josh said, still looking off. “I wasn’t surprised.”

Leo nodded. “No. Me either.” 

He blinked a couple times, then turned back to his office. “I - I gotta make some calls.”

* * *

“This is Donna Moss,” she answered, pushing her voice into a professional tone. 

“Donna? This is Annabeth, do you have a moment for Mr. McGarry?”

“I-“

“Thank you, one moment,” the cheerful voice on the other end of the line didn’t give her an opportunity to respond, being replaced in a heartbeat by a familiar gravel.

“Hey kid, how are you doing?”

“Mr. McGarry - “

“Leo,” he corrected her gently.

“Leo,” Donna’s voice was pained. “It’s… good to hear your voice. How can I help you?”

“You can start by telling me how you’re doing.”

“I’m fine.”

“Liar,” he accused. “You took a hit today, an undeserved one, and you have every right to be pissed.”

“I - It’s fine. I should have known better,” she said wearily.

“It’s crap, and you know it. Josh knows it too, he just hasn’t gotten his head out of his ass.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does,” he said. His tone was serious. “Do you want to help this campaign?”

“I do.”

“Do you want a job with us?”

“No,” she said, more firmly. “I mean, I do. But I won’t let you go over his head.”

Leo could hear the subtext. _I won’t let you betray him too._

“Donna, I’m just saying that you’re about to get a few offers.” He had seen Josh make several calls to his connections, and had heard him mention having a very promising candidate. Loyal to the end, he was trying to take care of her, even with their estrangement. But doing press work for the Democratic candidate in Hawaii wasn’t what she, Josh, or the campaign needed. “I wouldn’t recommend taking anything you can’t get out of easily when the right job comes along.”

“I… I’ll keep an eye out. Thank you, Leo”

“It’s gonna turn out all right, Donna. I promise.”


	2. The Al Smith Dinner

Donna wrapped up the statement with a reminder of the Drudge Report headline saying Vinnick had promised the American Christian Assembly approval on judges, and then began to walk away. 

“Ms. Moss,” began Melissa Anderson, a reporter she recognized as one of Danny Concannon’s co-workers from the Washington Post, “do you have a moment to answer a few questions?”

She glanced at her watch, judging her schedule. She smiled, “How can I help you, Missy?”

“Thanks, Donna,” she said as she held up her recorder, “You worked previously on the Russell campaign in the primaries, where you had some pointed words about Congressman Santos.”

Donna stared, but only for a moment. “I did. And since I made those statements, I’ve met the Congressman and he has proven to me beyond any doubt that he is eminently qualified. I believe as the American people get to know him, they’ll see that as well.”

“And now you’re making statements about Arnold Vinnick on behalf of the Santos campaign,” the reporter continued.

“The Republican candidate has had four terms as a Senator to make his case on the issues. His inconsistencies are available for all to see, particularly with regard to a woman’s right to choose.” 

“You served in the Bartlet Administration, didn’t you?”

“I had the honor to work as an assistant on President Bartlet’s staff, yes,” Donna acknowledged, stressing the word President. “I see many of the same qualities - fierce intelligence, strong resolve, a devotion to public service - in the Congressman.” She laughed a little, “With less gratuitous Latin and esoteric trivia, to be sure.”

Missy locked eyes with her. “You used to work for Josh Lyman, didn’t you? The campaign manager for the Santos campaign?”

Donna tried to mask her expression, “Yes.”

“He didn’t bring you along with him,” the reporter pressed.

“I was offered a chance to join the Russell campaign before Congressman Santos had entered the race. It was an amazing opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. Within a few months I moved from being an assistant at the White House to spokesperson for the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency.”

“And away from Josh Lyman.” Missy was very direct.

“I’m sorry?”

“Ms. Moss, you have to know about-“

Donna shook her head, “No. I don’t-“

“You have to know about the rumors in Washington about you and Mr. Lyman,” Missy finished.

“I’m sorry, I don’t see how this question is relevant to the Congressman’s campaign or to Senator Vinnick’s inconsistent record on the issues,” Donna responded coldly. “Joshua Lyman is one of the leading political minds in the country, and his masterful campaigning for Congressman Santos is a testament to that. Yes, he was my boss, and he was a good friend, and now I intend to do my very best to help him elect the Congressman in November.”

Missy very deliberately turned off the tape recorder. “Ms. Moss. Donna. This is off the record, but I’m hoping we can write this story at some point. Joshua Lyman was shot at Rosslyn, and I have witnesses that say you spent hours there watching over him. You were critically injured by a roadside bomb in Gaza and he flew to Germany to be with you in the middle of an international incident. Rumors aside, you two were practically inseparable for almost seven years in the White House. I knew Josh when he was working for Hoynes. He was brilliant but erratic, and wildly disorganized. As Deputy Chief of Staff for President Bartlet, he was still erratic, but somehow more brilliant and much more organized. I’m friends with Danny Concannon, Donna. I’ve heard about the story about Bartlet’s second Inauguration and the snowballs and good cop, bad cop. You two were so close. What happened?”

“I can’t talk about that, Missy.” Donna said, forcing her voice to remain calm. “You’ll have to ask Mr. Lyman.” She reconsidered, “No, don’t. He - the campaign - doesn’t need any distractions right now.”

“Donna?” Missy asked, with a sympathetic tone.

“Yes?”

“He was a good friend?” The emphasis on the past tense hung in the air.

Unable to answer, Donna turned her back and went to the office just assigned to her, and shut the door.

* * *

The knock came a couple minutes later, and the door opened immediately after. Leo strode in, catching only a glimpse of Donna throwing a handful of tissues into the wastebasket next to her desk. Noting this, he carefully closed the door behind him.

“I’m sorry, kid, is this a bad time?”

She looked up at him, “No, it’s fine. How can I help you?”

“You did good out there today,” he said. “Real good. ‘We should have had you take over when C.J. became Chief of Staff’ good.”

She smiled at the compliment, and it almost reached her eyes. 

“I’m glad you’re here. We need all the talent we can get.”

“Thank you, Leo.” Donna dabbed her eyes with another tissue. “Is - is he glad?”

Leo looked over at her, mouth slightly open. 

“Does he even know?” 

He didn’t know how to answer.

“Leo!” she accused. 

“He probably hasn’t found the memo on his desk yet.”

“Leo!” she practically yelled. “I can’t!”

“It’s fine, Donna,” he said, “You’ve done your time out in the wilderness. We need you out there, working for us.”

“He said no!”

“To the deputy job. This isn’t that,” Leo corrected her. “Lou saw your work in the Midwest Corridor and loved you. She brought you in on her own, and she was right to do so.”

“But I thought you said - you suggested that you -…”

“Yeah, I was working on it and Lou grabbed you first. You earned this, Donna. All on your own.”

She smiled a little more warmly at that. “It’s still going to be a problem, isn’t it?”

“Josh will come around,” Leo said, “He’ll see that he has no excuses left.”

Something clicked for Donna right then. “You asked Missy to interview me. About my time in the Russell campaign.”

“I did. And you knocked it out of the park,” he replied. “The first part. The off the record stuff at the end there, that was all her. Maybe a little prompting from Danny.”

She looked down. “She caught that I said we were friends, Leo. Were. I don’t like thinking of it like that.”

“You’re still friends.”

“It doesn’t feel like it.”

“It will,” Leo assured her. “Give it time. One way or another, if he’s still being a jackass after Election Day, I promise you I will take steps.”

Donna looked a little wistful. “Promise?”


	3. Duck and Cover

Josh wasn’t the smartest of the Senior Staff. He’d never really been the smartest in the room, but he’d always gravitated around the ones who were, and then worked tirelessly to try to keep up. It was that dogged determination that made him so valuable to Leo and the President. 

He also could have great instincts, flashes of brilliance, often leading to grand gestures that could either pull in the half dozen votes needed to pass an important bill at the last minute or leave a friend floored by his capacity for thoughtfulness and love.

His current flash of brilliance wasn’t a grand gesture but rather inaction. The San Andreo power plant had been in danger of meltdown, and he shut the Santos campaign down. No interviews, no releases, no campaigning. Only a quick statement from the Congressman offering condolences to the engineer who had sacrificed his life to help avert the disaster.

It was a good plan, Leo noted, but the flaw was that it left Josh with little work to do. He came to his protege’s office and looked in. Josh had his head down, paging through spreadsheets of polling data.

“Those all went out the window,” Leo said.

“Yeah. San Andreo’s gonna rewrite the whole map. But this is all I have right now.” The kid rubbed his hands through his hair and then leaned back. “Was there something you needed?”

“Yeah,” the man responded. “As a matter of fact. Come along.”

“I really need to go over these.”

“No,” Leo smiled, “You really don’t. You’re giving yourself busywork. Come, have a drink. Everyone’s sitting down and catching their breath before the final push.”

Josh hesitated for a moment, then got up and walked to the doorway. He looked out into the office, where Congressman Santos held his wife Helen in his arms, whispering something in her ear that made her smile warmly. Bram and Lou were laughing, looking more relaxed than they had in weeks. Ronna was handing beers to Edie, Otto and Donna. Annabeth was waiting by the cooler, a drink in one hand and an unopened bottle of water in the other. Josh froze, and his brow furrowed. “Uh- I think I’ll just wrap up this first. I’ve been riding them all pretty hard for the last few months. Let them have a relaxing evening without me.”

He walked back to his desk and flopped down into his chair. Leo stepped in and shut the door behind him, “Don’t you think this has gone on long enough, Josh?”

“What?”

“I’m not here to be your counselor. God knows, given my track record, I’d be terrible at it. But I am your friend. And I’m her friend. And dammit, you’re each other’s friends.”

“Donna and I are fine, Leo,” Josh said.

“Like hell,” he responded. “You’re working together, which is a step in the right direction, but you aren’t there yet.”

“It doesn’t matter, Leo,” he said, highlighting a line on the spreadsheet. “We don’t have time to worry about the extraneous crap right now. I’m glad she’s here, she’s invaluable to the campaign. But whatever we were…” His words trailed off.

“It doesn’t matter,” Josh repeated, his eyes haunted.

Leo seemed to accept it, and opened the door to leave. “It’s your show, Josh. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Thank you.” Josh ran the highlighter over three more lines, seemingly at random, and didn’t look up as Leo left, closing the door behind him. Then he whispered, “So do I.”

* * *

Leo walked over to the gathering, taking the proffered bottle from Annabeth.

“Josh isn’t joining us?” asked the Congressman, his arm still around his wife.

“You knew he was a workaholic when he roped you into this, didn’t you?”

Helen took a long drink from her own beer. “That man needs to get laid.”

Ronna looked shocked, “Mrs. Santos!”

Annabeth laughed, “Well, I’m not volunteering.”

“Not it,” said Edie, tapping her nose.

“Don’t look at me,” said Lou, “It’s bad enough that he got me to work for him. Is there any room in the budget to fly in one of his old girlfriends? I remember he was with Mandy Hampton a long time back. And there was Amy Gardner…”

“Amy?” said Congressman Santos, “Oh yeah- I remember. He mentioned that when she helped out with debate prep in New Hampshire.”

“Yeah,” Lou continued, “She was probably a good match. Amy’s as much of a hard-ass power player as he is. And there were always rumors in D.C. he was screwing his assistant on the si-.”

Lou stopped, and the room got very quiet. “Donna, I’m sorry-“

“Nothing happened between us,” Donna said softly. “Josh would never - not with a subordinate. He’d never embarrass the President like that.”

“Or you,” added Leo, so quietly that only Annabeth heard.

“How could you put up with him for eight years?” Lou asked Donna, “It hasn’t been five months and I want to strangle him, and I didn’t have to bring him coffee and wait on him hand and foot.”

“I never brought him coffee,” Donna said with a wan smile.

“He’s still a complete jackass,” Lou accused.

“Yes. At times, you can’t even imagine how much. And he’s also one of the sweetest, most loyal people I’ve ever known.” She took a drink. “He hired me, when I had no degree and no meaningful experience. And when I left to go back to my ex, only to realize what a mistake that was, Josh took me back again without a word. Without any recriminations.

“When I first came to the White House, my predecessor pranked me into giving this stupid quote for a teen magazine, and Josh gave me a little grief for it. I got him back by having a friend pose as an NSA agent, only Josh - he tried to protect me. He said he’d vouch for me with his life. And when he found out it was a prank, he took it like a champ.”

She sank into the chair, her eyes focused on the beer in her hands. “He hired Charlie Young. He came in to be a bike messenger, but Josh pushed him to be President Bartlet’s personal aide, and now he’s the special aide to the Chief of Staff. Josh has been like a brother to him ever since, especially when Zoe…” She didn’t have to mention the kidnapping.

“When I learned my AP English teacher was retiring, I tried to get her a presidential proclamation.” She gave a very small laugh. “It was silly, it was ridiculous, but she meant so much to me. Josh went behind my back and wrote a memo to the president. He got him to call Mrs. Morello. I got to thank her from the Oval Office. They talked for half an hour about Shakespeare, Beowulf… it may have been the proudest moment of my life.

“He always had time to answer my questions. And he heard me. He took my advice and he listened to me, and things I said ended up helping shape White House policy. 

“And when I was injured in a senseless bombing in Gaza, he flew halfway across the world in the middle of a national crisis to be by my side.”

She looked up, and everyone could see tears streaming down her face. She wouldn’t tell them about him rescuing her when she perjured herself over her diary. Or when she’d tried to cover for Jack Reese and he’d come to her apartment and told her that she needed to think of her career and insisted she come to the inauguration balls with him. Or that wonderful note he’d written in _The Art and Artistry of Alpine Skiing_. “Because that’s who Josh is. Go call Sam Seaborn or C.J. Cregg or Toby or Charlie about him. Ask Leo about how he’s moved heaven and earth to try to protect him. He would fall on a sword, jump in front of a bullet-“

Helen Santos had crossed the room to Donna, and put an arm around her. “It’s all right, Donna. I’m sorry if we made you think we don’t value Josh.”

Donna sniffled a bit. “You have to get him, really get him.”

“That doesn’t mean he isn’t still a complete jackass from time to time,” came a subdued but all too familiar voice.

They all turned to look at Josh Lyman, leaning against a wall holding a beer. He put his drink down on the table and moved slowly towards Donna. Helen gave the woman a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder and walked back to her husband. 

Donna rose from the chair, whispering his name as he approached.

His eyes were wet with unshed tears as he wrapped his arms around her. “Donna - Donna… I am so sorry.”

She hugged him tightly, “I missed you too. Every day.”

fin


End file.
